


Breakeven

by Hyaluronic



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Expletive Language, Gen, Gun Violence, Happy Hogan is a Good Bro, Hostage Situations, Hurt Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) Needs a Hug, May Parker is a boss, May's a butt-dialer, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Sick Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, an no thats not a euphemism for something, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21554137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyaluronic/pseuds/Hyaluronic
Summary: Peter Parker was never sick, even before he got bit by a radioactive spider illnesses were few and far between. So of course, the one day he felt like he was dying from a cold would be the day that the universe decided to incite Murphy's Law.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 18
Kudos: 248





	1. They Say Bad Things Happen for a Reason

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one shot but I'm still editing and the fic keeps growing - so I thought I would post the first part of what will hopefully only be a 2 chapter fic. Still just working on my writing to get the characterizations down for Tony, Peter, May, and now Happy. Also, I couldn't remember if the movies ever specified what May's occupation was so for plot purposes she's a nurse. Happy Reading, folks!

“Peter, Sweetie? It’s time to get up.” May knocked on her nephew’s door on her way to the bathroom, thanks to a call-in she had an early shift today and wouldn’t be able to drive him to school as she had planned. Peter would need to get up and try and make the bus. She flicked the bathroom light on and rummaged through the rooms junk drawer trying to find a hair tie. 

_“May?”_

At the faint call of her name, May looked up, knocking the drawer shut with her hip. “Everything okay, hon?”

Peter appeared in the doorway wrapped snuggly in his Ironman comforter that she and Ben had bought him for his tenth birthday. The poor kid’s cheeks were flushed cherry pink and his nose a bright red. “I think I’m sick.”

May sighed in sympathy, bringing the back of her hand up to rest against Peter’s forehead and frowning at the warmth she felt. “I would say so, come on,” She shooed, waving him towards the living room, “-couch!”

Peter trudged his way over to the couch and flopped down face first onto the cushions with a groan. “I’m dying…”

“You’re not dying.” May stated before pausing, eyes squinting in worry. “Are you?”

The lump of covers occupying the couch shook in the negative. 

“Okay, well, that’s good.” She was worried for a second she may have to lay a verbal beat down on him for hiding an injury. May made her way to the kitchen grabbing a glass and filling it with water. “As soon I can, I’ll try and get a doctors appointment for you. Make sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

She picked up a small bottle of Tylenol on her way back to the couch, placing both objects on the coffee table. 

“Don’t need a doctor.” Peter murmured from the safety of his cover cocoon.

“We’ll see, you get the fever down and look less like Rudolph, then we’ll talk about it. I don’t know how being sick effects your spidery type things.” May pulled the cover away from Peter’s face and pointed towards the Tylenol and water. “And, I don’t want to take a chance.”

A pale hand snaked out of the worn comforter and grabbed the pill bottle with a sigh. “Been sick before.”

May waited till he popped a couple of pills into his mouth before handing him the glass of water. “I have no doubt.” She stated matter-of-factly, watching to make sure Peter swallowed the pills without trouble.

Her nephew disappeared back under his cover quietly pleading, “Please, put me out of my misery.” 

May wasn’t sure how effective her eye roll was but nevertheless she rolled them and smacked at Peter’s swathed feet. “I have to go in early, I’ll try and run home at lunch and check on you, but I won’t be home until later tonight. I have to work a double now.”

Peter peeked out of the top of his cover with a frown. “Cindy call in again?”

“How’d you guess.” May smiled and ran a comforting hand through Peter’s sweaty hair and gently rubbed her thumb over his cheek bone. “Get some sleep, yeah?”

With a nod, Peter hugged the cover close and nuzzled into the couch cushions trying to get comfortable. A quiet _love you_ floated out from the underneath the cover as May made her way towards the front of the apartment. 

“Love you too, Kiddo.” 

_____________

Peter sniffed miserably, mindlessly flipping through the tv channels, trying to find anything decent to watch but nothing seemed to catch his interest. Daytime tv, he realized, sucked. He rubbed his sore nose with a wince. He felt like crap. His head was achy, he was freezing, his eyes were threatening to turn into a desert with as gritty as they felt, and he swore his nose was training for the New York Marathon with as much as it was running. 

He sighed, he knew he shouldn’t have gone on patrol last night; the air had been frigid and the rain that had begun to fall halfway through his patrol had started to mix with sleet before he’d eventually called it a night and headed home. That combined with his lack of sleep – he totally blamed that on mid-terms – it was a perfect recipe for catching a cold.

His phone vibrated on the coffee table and Peter slowly looked toward the object taking a moment to decide whether or not he really wanted to answer it; But, he was concerned it could be May checking in on him so he reached forward and swiped to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

_“-‘re in charge here.”_

“May?” Peter questioned worriedly, sitting up, heart racing as he could hear a muffled reply to his Aunts statement followed by a strained scream somewhere in the background. “May!”

_“Leave her alone! We’ll do whatever you want just, please, stop hurting them.”_

Peter stood too quickly sending the room into a tailspin around him. He reached his hand out to grip the arm of the couch, sinking back onto the cushions as he closed his eyes till the world decided it was done spinning. Surely, this was some fevered dream? This was the type of scenario his nightmares were made of. A loved one in danger while he was unable to help them. Any moment he would wake up and laugh at unfathomability of it all. 

But, when Peter’s ears caught several whispered conversations through the phone’s speaker and the pounding of his heart caused his breath to catch, he realized this wasn’t a dream. His Aunt was somewhere – no, not somewhere he could here the sound of beeping, a faint rhythmic up tic and down tic of a monitor. She had to be at the hospital!

_“You!”_

Peter swore his heart dropped to his feet as a quiet settled over the phone. Every moment that ticked by gave rise to a new scenario that could be happening, each one more horrible than its predecessor.

Peter stood again, trying his best to ignore the dizzying sensation that had his stomach roiling in objection, and started shakily towards his room. He needed to get his suit, he needed to get to the hospital. He needed to save May. He needed… Peter stopped, leaning heavily against the wall as his eyes welled and his breath hitched. He squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to calm himself. 

_“FIX HIM!”_

Peter startled at the shout jerking the phone from his ear before slowly nestling the phone back, listening intently for any sign of his aunt.

_“I…I.”_

A sob of relief escaped him at the shakiness of May’s voice. She was okay, she was still there.

_“You fix him up good, or I redecorate this boring ass room with your blood.”_

He could hear items moving and shifting. He listened intently afraid to move for fear he would be left in silence once more unable to hear what was happening, left to his thoughts and assumptions. 

A wet hacking cough drifted through the speakers and Peter winced at the grotesque sound, pushing himself away from the wall. Whoever it was didn’t sound well.

_“He-he’s going into shock! Someone get Dr. Altman – I think it’s pneumothorax. Jason, get me an IV kit!”_

As his aunt spoke, he could hear the shaking in her voice level out as instinct took over. He released a slow breath and finally made it to his room, phone still pressed tightly to his ear. He reached down to grab his backpack, doing his best to ignore the throbbing of his head and the protest of his stomach as the world continued to tilt this way and that.

He grabbed his suit and kicked off his sweatpants, working as quickly as possible to get dressed. He slapped the spider symbol to tighten the suit and then stared at the cell phone in one hand and the mask in the other. He tightened his grip on the phone, eyes closed in a silent promise to May that he was on his way before slipping the mask on. 

The interface lit up around him as the eyes of his suit adjusted to the lighting of the room. 

_“Welcome back, Peter.”_

“Karen, what’s the quickest route to Queens Memorial Hospital?”

 _“Calculating route, showing quickest route to Queens Memorial Hospital.”_ A gridded map appeared on the masks HUD - a thick blue line leading from his apartment to the hospital. _“Peter, are you in need of medical assistance? Your body temperature is abnormally high, and your heart rate is reaching 130 beats per minute.”_

Peter tested his strength as he gently put half his weight on the hand he had pressed tightly against the brick of the apartment building. He bounced his hand a few times to make sure it would stay before slowly crawling out his window. “I’m okay, Karen. But I need you to call Mr. Stark.”

He pressed his middle and pointer finger back against the palm of his hand, aiming for the top of the building across the street, and watched as his webbing struck the roofing. 

_“Calling Tony Stark.”_

Taking a deep breath to quell the nausea - he jumped.

_____________

_“Peter your vitals are showing a decline in condition.”_

“I…I’m fine, Karen. I just need a minute.” Peter murmured leaning against the air conditioning unit atop a building in downtown Queens. He would be okay, he just needed a moment to get his bearings, swinging across the Queens skyline while dealing with vertigo was not the best thing for a weakened immune system. He felt lethargic and sweaty and was trying his hardest to swallow against the need to expel his stomach.

“How far out are we from the hospital?”

_“Continuing at our current pace the estimated travel time is seven-to-eight minutes.”_

Peter sniffled and pushed away from the metal to stand shakily on his own, eyes scanning the rain clouded Queens skyline. “Karen, can you try calling Mr. Stark again?”

_“Of course, Peter.”_

An icon of the man popped up on his HUD. “Come on, Mr. Stark.” He murmured making his way towards the edge of the high-rise building. He wondered what was going on, Mr. Stark had always answered his calls when needed even when the topic of the call was as menial as everyday stuff. But, after a few moments, the call ended.

 _Damn-it_. Peter closed his eyes in annoyance. He tried to remind himself that there had to be a good reason why Mr. Stark wasn’t answering. But who the heck was he supposed to call if the one person he needed wasn’t available? 

Peter shot a web towards the building across the street and swung. “Karen, call Happy.”

_“Calling Happy Hogan.”_

He landed roughly on the gravel topped roof with a harsh breath – Happy’s face popped up on his HUD as the call continued to ring - before racing towards the other side of the building and letting loose another web and swinging. 

_“This better be good, Kid.”_  


Peter jerked in relief upon hearing the flippant greeting, barely up-swinging enough to clear the lip of the building so he could land safely. “Happy!” 

_“Peter? Kid? What’s going on? Why do you sound like the Snuffleupagus?”_

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of Mr. Stark.“ He explained as he shot out another web and jumped - casting another web in quick succession and swinging towards the hospital he could now see towering in the distance. He tried to shoot another web, but his eyes and stomach protested against the motion and instead he ended up landing – hard – on a fire escape to try and calm his nausea and lightheadedness.

_“Tony’s in a meeting and Pepper confiscated his distractions. What’s going on?”_

Peter’s head dropped to his chest; he took a deep breath before he focused on the window-fronted towers of the hospital a few of blocks away. He was almost there, and he silently prayed that May knew he was coming.

“I need your help.”


	2. But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Happy are enroute to help their wayward kiddo, May needs a hug and all the kudos because she's a boss, and Peter needs a hug for being the lovable caring adorkable teen he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And as I edit the fic keeps growing, apologies but it's looking like this one shot is now a 3 chapter fic. *pauses* I hope I can wrap it up in one more chapter, lol. Hand wavy medical stuff in this chapter so suspend your medical knowledge and go with the flow please :)

_“I need your help.”_

At the soft plea, Happy quickly made his way towards the elevator. “Kid, where are you?”

_“On my way to Queens Memorial Hospital, May’s in trouble.”_

A thousand possibilities ran through Happy’s mind at the breathless reply. He pressed the button for the fourth floor a little harder than probably necessary, watching as the elevators doors slid closed. “What happened?”

He could hear grunting and the sound of labored breathing through the phone’s speaker, almost sounding like the kid had stuffed something up his nose. _“She called, or-or butt dialed – I…I don’t know –and-.”_

Happy scrunched his face at the explanation. The elevator dinged and opened, allowing Happy to quickly make his way down the hall towards Pepper, who was sitting on a bench right outside the meeting room, tapping away on her tablet. “Peter, you need to breathe.” 

He listened as Peter took a couple of deep breaths to compose himself before starting over, _“May called and I-I could overhear her talking to someone._ ” A pause. _“It sounded like she was being held at gunpoint?”_

“And you’re sure she’s at Queens Memorial Hospital?” Pepper gazed up at him with a questioning look. Happy nodded towards the conference room door with a short explanation of, “Kid needs Tony.”

Pepper nodded and set her things down making her way into the conference room not even bothering to knock on the door. Probably thinking the same thing he had, if Peter was willingly calling for help it must be serious.

_“She has to be. I heard the sound of a heart monitor in the background, I think… There was screaming for her to help someone… that and, you know, it looks like the whole metropolitan police force is camped outside.”_

Happy turned from the conference room door and ran a hand through his hair. Peter sounded more than just exhausted, the kids voice had a shakiness to it that had Happy’s heart clenching, he knew that voice – heard it every time Pepper would say goodbye as Tony left on some hairbrained mission that would most likely end in his imminent demise.

“Peter? Pepper is pulling Tony out of his meeting, _do not_ even think about doing something stupid like going into that hospital by yourself. The cops are there, let them do their job for once.” He knew almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth the kid was most likely looking for a way inside, if he wasn’t already in there. Peter had the self-preservation instinct of a certain constant pain in Happy’s ass. 

There was a loud commotion behind him and Happy turned to see Tony exiting the meeting with a rough yell of indignation, he didn’t see Pepper following and surmised she must have stayed behind to smooth over any sore ego’s left in the wake of Tony’s dramatic departure. 

“Phone, now.”

At the clipped tone, Happy handed the mobile over without a word, watching as Tony said a few words of comfort to the kid before starting down the hall towards the elevator. “Chop, chop, Happy!”

_____________

Peter blinked owlishly against the overhead lights of the stairwell, the brightness blurring together into giant starbursts of color. He squinted against the pain before Karen adjusted the lenses of his mask to soften the light filtering through. His head was starting to pound in tandem with his heart, sending a reverberating ache through his skull that continued as a shiver down his spine. 

_“Pete, can you hear me?”_

He hummed a confirmation, raising his hand and shooting a web onto the ceiling of the stairwell, he gave the thread a few experimental tugs before swinging a leg over the railing and jumping down. He had to close his eyes against the rush as he repelled down to the main floor, landing with a soft thud as his knees buckled upon impact. Peter glared up at the web hanging from the ceiling, as if blaming the artificial threads for his ungracefulness. 

_“Kid, Happy said you told him the cops were there already. I know it’s hard but for right now you need to let them do their job. I’m on my way but I’m still a good fifteen minutes out.”_

Mr. Stark wanted him to wait? Didn’t he understand that this was May? That he couldn’t trust her safety to just anyone, especially the cops who were most likely on some bad guys payroll?

_“I know bud, that’s why you need to wait.”_

Had he said that aloud? Peter wondered to himself reaching out to pop open the stairwell door to the main lobby of the hospital, taking in the empty information desk and the flashing red and blue lights that seemed to be saturating everything. He needed to figure out how to get to the Emergency Department without being noticed by any potential threats. 

_“Peter, might I suggest you listen to Tony? His advice is the best course of action at the moment. You are unwell and not thinking clearly.”_

He ignored his AI’s suggestion, zoning in on the ceiling high above. “Karen, I need access to the ventilation system.”

_“Peter, might I recommend-“_

Peter cut the AI off with a sharp, “Now, please.”

_“Of course, according to schematics of the building, there is an access to the ventilation ducts twenty feet to your left.”_

_“Kid, I swear to all things Holy and Unholy if you don’t wait…”_

Peter closed his eyes and took a breath, coughing as quietly as he could against the tickling in his throat. He knew he needed to wait, that in his condition he might make matters worse, but he couldn’t just sit here twiddle his thumbs. Not with May’s wellbeing on the line.

“I just want to see her, Mr. Stark.” He swore he could feel the heat of Tony’s gaze from miles away.

_“Alright. Eyes only, you **do not** engage, do you understand me?”_

Peter nodded gently, making his way up into the hospitals ventilation system.

_“Use your words, Parker.”_

Peter winced at the use of his last name, feeling like a reprimanded child. “I won’t, no engaging, scouts honor.”

_“I swear if I even hear one thwip thwip of your web slingers that isn’t for climbing purpose’s, I’ll have FRIDAY ground you so fast-.”_

“I promise, Mr. Stark.” Peter blinked against the darkness of his surroundings before the suits night vision took over, washing everything in bright greys and muted blacks. Swallowing against the sickness of his stomach, he slowly began his trek down the vents. 

_____________

May’s hands shook as she pressed tightly against the gauze in a futile attempt to staunch the flow of blood seeping from the chest wound. She looked up worriedly at Doctor Altman, a short stout gentleman, who was trying his best to place a chest tube into the poor soul whom she was sure was already past saving. The only thing their ministrations were doing was prolonging the man’s suffering. She clenched her eyes closed trying to ignore the tackiness of the blood between her fingers and the accompanying stench of copper as she moved her hand to grab another piece of sterile gauze to replace the saturated ones.

“What’s taking so long!?” 

The aide standing beside her was trying her best to hold it together but at the startling yell dropped the emergency kit with a muted thud.

The gunman aimed his pistol at the scared girl, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. 

“Hey!” May shouted, swallowing hard against the lump that had formed in her throat. “We’re doing everything we can but you waving that gun around isn’t helping. We’re under enough stress without adding a firearm into the mix.”

May could feel the wide eyed gaze of the aide boring into the side of her but she kept her eyes level with the gunman, taking slow controlled breaths to try and keep her nerves calm. Even though it felt like she would throw up given the opportunity. 

“He dies,” The gunman started with a snarl, “You die.”

May smiled with a sardonic nod of her head before Doctor Altman cleared his throat across from her catching her attention and nodding toward the veins sticking out on their patients throat and the blue tinge currently painting the man’s lips. “It’s tension.” 

At the whispered declaration May sighed, of course it was, because this day didn’t already suck enough. “Abby?” The aide turned to her, eyes bright with fear, and the emergency kit still half hazard on the floor by the girls feet. “Abby, Sweetie, I need you to get me another pint of O negative from the bank.”

The aide looked up, unsure, but May did her best to smile in gentle reassurance. Trying to convey that everything was normal, that despite their heavily armed intruder this was just another day at work. It must have had the desired effect because the girl made to leave the room with a shaky nod.

“No one leaves.” The gunman ground out in annoyance, lifting the gun towards Abby. 

Abby stopped in her tracks, hands clutching at the front of her maroon scrubs, unsure eyes looking from May to the gunman. “But-.”

“Your friend has lost a tremendous amount of blood.” Doctor Altman interrupted, “If we don’t replenish his levels his condition will deteriorate quicker than we will be able to work against, we need that blood.” 

“Okay, okay, just let me.” The man ran a rust colored hand through his hair before turning towards the door of the trauma room. “Okay!” He shouted turning back to the small group, “If she’s not back in two minutes I start shooting, understood?”

Doctor Altman acquiesced, “Abby, go.”

The girl didn’t have to be told twice as she scurried from the room.

“May, I’m ready, but you need to hold him, he’s numb but the shock to his system will still be jarring.” 

With a nod, May moved to the head of the gurney pressing as much of her weight onto the patients biceps as physically possible. She knew how painful chest tube insertions could be, even with anesthetic there was still pain and the pressure was enormous, most patients ended up screaming themselves horse, before generally passing out from shock. 

“On three?” 

May nodded her understanding and readjusted her grip.

“One. Two. Three.” With a swift shove, Doctor Altman inserted the chest tube in-between the man’s ribcage and even in his unconsciousness the man bucked against May’s hold a scream of agony tearing its way from his lips.

Their captor started forward in anger, gun aimed at the Doctor Altman, who raised his hands in supplication backing a few steps away from the gurney. Knowing that their captor was overwhelmed and that the man – not meaning to – may accidently squeeze a little to hard on the trigger.

“His breath sounds are better.” May murmured, leaning down to check the bag attached to the tubing, and frowning at the amount of blood filling the receptacle. She had to wonder how the man was still alive 

There was a choked laugh as their ever friendly captor patted the unconscious man on the leg. “Told you, Jonny. Told you you’d make it, ain’t nothing gonna hold us down, yea?”

May and Doctor Altman shared a knowing look with each other, Jonny wasn’t long for this world regardless of the tube helping drain the fluid and blood from his lungs. The four bullets to his person would make sure of that. 

“We’ll be out of here soon, back home in no time. Just you wait.” May’s heart ached at the display of emotion, her eyes welling in sympathy for the poor duo. Now that there was a moment of quiet, she took in their captors haggard appearance. He looked to be in his late twenties-early thirties, his short brown hair nothing but a spikey mess, his red rimmed eyes a dull hazel, while his clothes were ragged and stained. She wondered what had happened to lead the two to their current predicament… 

With a sniff the gunman rubbed his nose before he turned to stare at the door with a quirked eyebrow. “Where’s the other one? She shoulda been back by now.”

May followed his gaze looking out to the barren hub of the Emergency Department. “Give her a minute, she probably just got turned around.” 

“Or she ran to the cops!” The gunman speculated with a kick to the overbed table in frustration knocking it over and scattering all the contents across the floor. “Damn-it! Fuck!”

She hated herself for taking a cautious step back at the expletives but she was afraid of what might happen next if their captor couldn’t calm his anger. May had hoped that by now, almost an hour since the ordeal had started, that this whole situation would’ve been over and she would be safely on her way home to Peter. God, Peter… She looked up at the ceiling hoping – praying – that Peter was safe at home fast asleep. Oblivious to the ongoings here.

But it seemed like God had a sense of humor, because as she stared at the ceiling, the hospitals ventilations system coughed, a harsh barking sound that seemed to reverberate around the small room. And her motherly instincts took an educated guess on who was traipsing around the duct system. 

The gunman turned at the sudden sharp sound, eyes flicking up to the vent covering on the ceiling. “I knew it, she went to the damn cops!” 

Before May even had the chance to try and convince him otherwise, the man aimed the gun at the ceiling and pulled the trigger, twice in quick succession.


	3. What am I suppose to say when I'm all choked up and you're OK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony saves the day - sorta, May's a badass, and Peter is just glad the day is over with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done! I'm getting more comfortable writing in the MCU at least with the characters I currently want to utilize for other fic purposes. Thank you all once more for the kudo's and comments, they seriously made my day!

He had the hospital in his sights. Could even see the flashing lights from the police cars reflecting off the building the closer he got. His eyes flicked to the two mini icons of Happy and Peter on his HUD. “Happy, are we good?”

_“As good as we’re going to be, they know you’re coming.”_

That would have to do, as long as the Five-O knew he was going to be on scene and not to be bothersome distractions, it was all he could ask for. “Alright, Pete?”

There was a long pause that had Tony frowning in worry before a hoarse _I’m here_ had him wincing in sympathy, it sounded like even the quiet reply most likely hurt to have said. All the more reason for him to end this whole situation quickly so the poor kid could get some much needed rest and mother-henning from his aunt. 

“You just sit tight and be my – what’d you call it – my ‘man in the chair’?”

_“ **Guy** in the chair…” _

“Mmm, well, whatever you want to call it, let me know if anything changes in the meantime.” Tony cut partial power to his thrusters and gently landed on the roof of the building across from the hospital. “Friday, what’s the quickest point of entry?”

_“On the far left of the hospital, the Ambulance Bay.”_

Tony made his way towards the Ambulance Bay when a wheeze drifted through this speakers of his helmet, a strained wisp of breath that had his chest aching in pity. Peter was starting to sound worse, whatever bug that had decided to attack the poor kids immune system was really putting him through the ringer. But, as crappy as it was, every harsh breath he heard was a reminder that Peter was still safely out of harms way and not engaging a potentially lethal threat. So, it came a shock when the sound suddenly disappeared along with Peter’s image from his HUD. 

“FRIDAY, connect to Peter’s AI, find out what’s going on.” 

_“Tony?”_

“Call you back as soon as I know Happy.” Tony ended the call as he landed at the entrance to the Ambulance Bay with a frown.

An intense popping sound came from beyond the sliding glass doors in front of him. Tony had been on plenty of missions to know what gunshots sounded like, even from this distance.

_“Boss, Peter Parkers suite appears to be offline.”_

Yeah, not liking the sound of that. “Force a connection, FRI, and run the kids vitals.”

_“Of course.”_

Tony stepped through the sliding doors only to be met with the wide eyes of one May Parker and her apparent entourage along with their bed ridden groupie. 

_“Boss, Karen is online, but Peter isn’t wearing his mask. According to the vitals available, his blood pressure is 143 over 96, heart rate is 142 beats per minute, and core body temperature is 102.7 degrees Fahrenheit. It also appears that the suit has sustained damage to the upper chest region.”_

Tony’s face fell at the analysis, he didn’t need to be a genius to put the two and two of the situation together to get to the outcome of four. He raised his hands and the repulsors of his gloves flared to life along with his anger. “What do you say we end this whole she-bang. If you cooperate, I’m sure we could cop a plea bargain on the grounds of insanity.”

The assailant grabbed May roughly by the arm and pulled her close, gun pointed to her temple. Tony could feel the frustration and worry radiating off her in waves. May swallowed and flicked her eyes to side as if gesturing to something behind them, in a roundabout way confirming his fear that the gunshots from just moments before were targeted at a certain mutual acquaintance of the Spidery kind.

“Or, how about if you don’t let us out of here, I start putting bullets into these fine folks, starting with nursey-girl here.” 

_“Boss, the SWAT team is in progress of searching the hospital. They are enroute to your position.”_

Tony ground his teeth in annoyance, if the SWAT team snuck up on them and startled the stupid man before him, the guy was liable to accidently shoot someone. That and there was also the horrifying thought of Peter possibly bleeding out somewhere down the hall and the longer they stayed in their stalemate the more dangerous it was for Peter. Though he knew May couldn’t tell he was looking at her, he hoped she understood that he would be back for her after he took care of their wayward kid. 

With a put upon sigh, Tony side stepped and lowered his arms in supplication. He watched as the gunman moved out of the way so the gurney and the doctor could pass by out the doors before slowly backing away from Tony with suspicious eyes, May faintly gave him a shaky smile before the two disappeared out the sliding doors. “FRI, cahoot with EDITH and keep track of ‘em.”

_“On it, Boss.”_

“I also need the location of Peter.” Tony added as he began to make his way down the hall as swiftly as possible.

_“According to my data, he is located above Trauma Room 2.”_

Tony quickly rounded the corner and saw said room across from the nurses station. He made it to the room in a few short strides and had to stop in shock at the door, the room was trashed, medical equipment and first aid supplies were strewn across the room, blood was pooled in various places on the floor and splattered across the monitors and furniture. It was almost as if the room was pulled straight from one of Pepper’s medical dramas.

Having to, but almost too afraid to, Tony looked up at the ceiling, eyes zeroing in on the metal grating of the vent. Anger flooding through him at the site of the two holes to the cover and the red currently seeping through the metal slates. A shout from somewhere outside the room caught Tony’s attention.

_“SWAT has reached the ER, you need to hurry.”_

With little effort, Tony powered the thrusters on the boots of his suit to reach the ceiling before ripping the covering off the ventilation duct, not surprised when a bleary eyes teenager fell along with the metal. The suit dipped at the added weight before righting itself. 

“Ironman?” Peter questioned, eyes bright from pain and fever, mask clutched in his hands and pressed tightly against the area below his collar bone, in what appeared to be an attempt to stop the bleeding from his wound.

Tony didn’t have time to reply, as he pulled the kid close and flew from the room and down through the halls of the hospital and out through the ambulance bay. He continued on till he was safely across the street and settled on the roof of a building before he gently set Peter down, the poor kid hissing and arching his back in pain. “FRIDAY, call Happy!”

_“Calling Happy Hogan.”_

The phone barley had chance to ring before his friend was picking up. _“Tony, what the heck happened?”_

“Explain it to you later but I’m sending you coordinates. Get there yesterday!” Tony ended the call before Happy could say another word. “FRIDAY, alert Helen Cho that I’m inbound to her location. And then send the coordinates to Happy and load them onto the HUD.”

_“Alerting Doctor Cho and loading coordinates.”_

A grid map appeared on the lower corner of his helmets display which Tony ignored for the moment in favor popping open the faceplate of his armor to get a better look at Peter. He was used to Peter’s constant pop culture references and stream of consciousness chit-chat that it worried him with how quiet the kid was being. “Pete, honesty time, how you holding up?”

“Did you save May?” Peter questioned through clenched teeth, instead of answering his mentor. Fevered eyes pleading with Tony to have saved his aunt before worrying about him.

“Work in progress, Kiddo.” Tony gently moved Peter’s pale shaky hands back from the wound by his collarbone, wincing at the redness he saw but pleased to see that the blood had already seemed to have slowed. 

Peter shoved back against Tony’s ministrations in annoyance. “You…you gotta get May, Mr. Stark. Yo-you gotta save her, she’s-.” 

“May and I sorta shared a moment and made the nonverbal executive decision that injured spiders were to come first.” Tony put the kids hands back over the wound and gently leaned Peter against the chest of his suit so he could get see the back of the Spider-Man suit. He frowned when he noticed there was no exit wound from the bullet. “Damn... Alright, you’re talking so I’m taking that as some sort of sign you’re not going to keel over any time soon.” 

Peter tried to laugh but ended up coughing and grunting when his muscles disturbed his injury, sending a shooting fire down his left arm – his fingers curling in pain. 

“Quick as can be, the sooner I get you situated the sooner I can get to May, Cho’s waiting on us.” Tony went pick the teen up, but Peter stopped him with a vehement shake of his head.

“I’ll be…finnnng.” Peter scrunched his face up, curling over in pain as the sensation of pins and needles undulated down his back. “You gotta-gotta get May first.”

“Yeah, not happening. Your Aunt scares me more than you.” The faceplate closed and as painlessly as he could, Tony lifted Peter up into his arms and took to the air.

_____________  
May took a deep breath and tried her best to ignore the imaginary heat from the gun pointed at her as she drove the EMS vehicle down the backstreets of Queens. She just needed to stay calm, everything would work out. She pursed her lips, God she hoped it worked out.

“Take a right at the next street.”

She side eyed her captor and with the flick of her wrist turned indictor on. “Where are we going?”

“None of your business.” 

At the clipped reply May clicked her tongue quietly, whispering, “Okay, then…”

The gunman turned towards the back of the van, “How’s he doing?”

Doctor Altman looked up at the question with a sigh. “The fluid on his lungs is diminishing, his blood pressure seems to have stabilized for the moment, and his pulse is faint but there.” The doctor shook his head in sympathy. “He’s still in need of a blood transfusion or his chances for survival are very quite slim.”

“Then we better get some of that then, huh?” Mr. Gunman turned back towards the windshield. “Head to the nearest blood bank.”

May balked at the request. “You can’t be serious, the whole police force is going to be-“

“Didn’t ask for your opinion!” The pistol brushed by her shoulder from the wild gestures the man made with his angered retort. “Blood Bank, Now!”

 _Everything was going to work out, it was all going to be fine._ May continued the mantra as she turned to look into the side mirror and her eyes widened at the familiar glint of red and gold closing in on them from behind. She tried to mentally calculate if enough time had passed for Tony to get Peter to safety. She swore if Stark had left her baby boy to follow after them, she was going to... The thought drifted as the EMS van made a sizzling sound followed by a loud pinging before slowling down and sputtering in engine failure. 

Mr. Gunman cursed and turned to look into the back of the van just as the backdoor was tore off its hinges, causing Doctor Altman to seek cover under the gurney as best he could, as a menacing looking Ironman appeared in place of the door. 

“Don’t suppose we could end this whole thing peacefully before the local boys in blue arrive?”

Seemingly pissed at the sarcastic request the Gunman cocked his pistol with a curse and took aim at May.

“Really not proving my insanity plea wrong here, pal.” Tony explained raising his repulsors. “Doing the same thing over and over is pretty good example.”

“Back off!” He spiky haired man warned, his eyes never leaving Ironman as he made a blind grab for May to pull her closer. Only, she had finally had enough and saw her opportunity to strike since her captor seemed to be focused on the threat of Tony Stark before them. She leaned back from the grab, before quickly reaching forward and shoving the hand holding the gun upwards and when the Gunman made to grab her with his free hand she chomped at the appendage. May pushed upwards with all her strength into a standing while the man struggled to regain control of his weapon, reaching out once more to grab at her but was blocked when May brought her foot up and landed a solid kick to his crotch. With an undignified cry of pain, the gunman released his hold on his weapon, bowing to try and relieve the stress to his private parts.

May sucked in a quick breath and pulled the gun close to her chest with an exhale. Her eyes widening as she processed what she had just done. She hastily made her way to the back of the van before her captor could recover. She could hear the sound of police sirens in the distance as she reached Tony and handed him the gun. 

_____________

Peter blinked groggily against the bright lights of his hospital room. He tried to remember what exactly had happened but could only vaguely remember Mr. Stark flying him somewhere, - the clinic he assumed – before the blissfulness of drugs let him finally drift away from the pain wracking his body and into a peaceful sleep.

“Hey Champ, welcome back to the land of living.”

Peter squinted at the blurry figure above him, “M’ser Stark?”

Tony brushed the hair from his forehead with a grin. “The one and only.”

At the realization that someone else should be by his bedside, Peter jack knifed up only to fall back against his pillows with a hiss at the tight pulling sensation in his chest. 

“Hey, whoa, Kid.” Tony admonished setting a gentle hand on the right side of Peter’s chest. “I know they have you on some of Caps happy juice but that doesn’t mean you can just bounce around.“

Peter swallowed thickly with a shake of his head, looking imploringly at his mentor. “May, is she-!”

“May’s fine.” Tony soothed. “Helen checked her over and gave her a clean bill of health, she’s currently getting cleaned up.” With a soft pat to the shoulder, Tony sat down in the bedside chair.

Peter sighed in relief at the news. “Good… that’s… that’s good.”

“Get some sleep, Kid. May’ll be here when you wake up.” 

He nodded heavily as closed his eyes and let himself drift.

The next time Peter awoke the world was clearer and his chest had started to ache in lieu of pain meds. He shifted, taking special care to not jostle his left shoulder, and turned to see May sitting beside his bed, her cell phone clenched tightly in her hands, eyes zoned out in thought. 

“May?”

At the quiet call of her name, May blinked and seemed to pop back into herself, one of her hands reaching out to grasp his. “I’m so sorry, Sweetie.” 

Peter blinked, mystified. “Why are you sorry?”

May looked at their entwined hands, almost as if she was ashamed. “I just assumed you saw the news coverage and that’s why you came. I didn’t realize I’d called you. You must have been so scared.”

Peter tilted his head down to try catch his aunts gaze. “May, it’s okay. I was worried. I would have never forgiven myself if something bad had happened to you that I could’ve helped with.”

“I’m the one that’s supposed to be worrying about you not the other way around.” May said with a strained laugh, “Our lives are weird.”

“When has our life ever been normal?” 

“True.” May answered quietly as silence settled over the two, both aunt and nephew just enjoying each other’s company after a long and trying day.

“I figured I’d be getting the world’s longest lecture right now.” Peter stated breaking the silence.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m saving that for later.” May patted his hand in condolence. “Once you’re better you and I will be having words, some of them might even be unsuitable for your young ears. But, right now I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you’re okay too, May.”


End file.
